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Explore how unexpected events changed the landscapes and brought a touch of magic to the ordinary places.
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00:00Let's check out some places that look like they're out of this world.
00:04Welcome to the vibrant, colorful world of Burano.
00:08It's an island in Italy.
00:09The first thing you'll notice is the striking and bold panorama
00:13formed by the rainbow of colored houses that adorn the island.
00:18Nowadays, Burano is mainly a tourist hotspot,
00:22with only a handful of locals calling it a home sweet home.
00:25The island is also home to the traditional style of lace making,
00:30that's been around for centuries.
00:31Sure, you might find some cheap knockoffs in souvenir shops,
00:35but the real deal is handmade by a select few artisans in town.
00:41Anyway, you might be wondering why the Burano folks
00:44decided to paint their houses like in a Skittles commercial.
00:47The answer lies in the island's history.
00:50Let's rewind to the beginning.
00:52The first houses built on Burano were made of reeds and mud,
00:56and only later, thanks to the romanization of the area,
01:00the houses started to be made of bricks.
01:03Yet, colors were not seen there until the birth of the famous lace industry,
01:08which brought an economic surge and fame to the island.
01:11The island was mainly inhabited by fishers.
01:14They experienced a lot of trouble during frequent winter mists.
01:18To solve this problem,
01:20they started painting the facades of their homes with identifying colors
01:24to find their way back home even in the thickest fog.
01:27Another theory suggests that different colors identified different families on the island,
01:32and some believe that the humidity and local women were behind the variation in colors,
01:37as they repainted the facades with paint they mixed from various sources.
01:43Let's head to another island.
01:45This one is in Japan, and, surprise, it's ruled by cats!
01:51Aoshima has over 200 furry feline friends,
01:55mostly orange and brown tabbies and calicos,
01:58and they're all waiting to say hello when you arrive.
02:01You can stroll around the island with them,
02:03sit back and relax as they play and sleep,
02:06or just enjoy the peaceful waters.
02:09The locals feed the cats every day, so they don't beg for food.
02:13However, it's always nice to give them some cat food in a designated area,
02:18or play with them using toys to make them even happier.
02:22Aoshima wasn't always a cat island.
02:25It used to be a thriving fishing village,
02:27where cats were brought to hunt mice.
02:30As fishing declined, the human population dwindled.
02:34But the cats remained and prospered.
02:36Some cat lovers discovered the island, and the rest is history.
02:41Thanks to the internet and word of mouth,
02:44Aoshima has become famous worldwide,
02:47and is now a popular destination for cat lovers.
02:51Now, check out this crazy sinkhole on the Oregon coast near Cape Perpetua.
02:57It's called Thor's Well, and it looks like it's straight out of a movie.
03:01They also call it the drainpipe of the Pacific,
03:04which is kind of hilarious if you think about it.
03:07Basically, it's a hole in the rock that seems to swallow all the ocean water around it.
03:13Some scientists think it used to be a cave.
03:16This thing is a sight to see,
03:18especially during high tides or storms,
03:21when the waves go wild and crash into the hole.
03:24Just be careful, because you don't want to get swept down into the abyss.
03:29The next stop is Pamukkale in Turkey.
03:33It literally means cotton castle.
03:36This place is home to the most beautiful white water pools in the world,
03:40formed by thousands of years of flowing water and carbonate minerals.
03:45Pamukkale is steeped in ancient history and legends.
03:49People have been coming here for centuries
03:51to experience the healing properties of the hot springs.
03:54The story of a girl who turned into a stunning beauty after bathing in the pools
03:59is just one of the many tales that surround this enchanting place.
04:04The mineral-rich waters slowly drip down the mountainside,
04:08cascading down these mineral terraces into the pools below.
04:12The terraces are made of travertine,
04:14which is a fancy-schmancy sedimentary rock
04:17that gets deposited by the mineral water from the hot springs.
04:20There are around 17 hot springs there,
04:24with water temperatures ranging from a toasty 95 degrees Fahrenheit
04:28to a boiling 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
04:31The water travels 1,050 feet to the head of the travertine terraces
04:36and deposits calcium carbonate on a section that's about 200 to 230 feet long.
04:42When the water gets super-saturated with calcium carbonate,
04:45it spits out carbon dioxide and then deposits calcium carbonate on the surface.
04:51It starts out as a soft gel and eventually crystallizes into travertine.
04:56Cool, huh?
04:59In Myanmar, there's a surreal jungle village of crumbling temples called Nguang Ohaq.
05:06Okay, so it's not the easiest place to get to,
05:09but trust me, it's worth it.
05:11After a serene boat ride that lasts about an hour,
05:14you'll walk through the charming little village.
05:16The floating market is where you can grab some fresh fish and veggies
05:20and maybe even do a little haggling.
05:23Then, you'll see a couple of fancy new temples painted in bright white.
05:27They're super cool and all,
05:29but the real magic happens when you lay your eyes
05:32on the ancient crumbling temples that have been around for centuries.
05:37These structures have never been renovated.
05:40The intricate details of every temple and different Buddha statues
05:44are like a time machine taking you back to the olden days.
05:47The whole vibe is just so awe-inspiring.
05:50It will leave a lasting impression on anyone lucky enough to visit.
05:56Have you heard of Columbia's Rainbow River?
06:00The name says it all.
06:01This place is a psychedelic burst of colors.
06:04The river flows and it's like a liquid rainbow
06:07with hues of red, yellow, purple, and more.
06:11The colors change depending on the light conditions,
06:14so you never know what you're going to get.
06:16The riverbed is covered with special plants,
06:19which make stuff pop with shades of red,
06:22and the waterfalls only add to the already epic view.
06:28Now, check out this place called the Danakil Depression.
06:32This geological formation was caused by the continental drift
06:36of three tectonic plates.
06:38I mean, what are the odds?
06:40No wonder it's one of Earth's most unusual environments.
06:43You can find it in Ethiopia.
06:46Danakil Depression is known as one of the hottest places on the planet,
06:50and it's home to salt lakes, lava lakes, volcanoes,
06:54and colorful acidic springs.
06:56It's like a whole other world down there.
06:59So how did this funky place come about, you may ask?
07:03Well, as the African and Asian tectonic plates drifted apart,
07:07they left behind a huge hole in the ground.
07:10It's like Earth just opened up and said,
07:13hey, let's make something really cool down here.
07:16In addition to its wild geology,
07:18the Danakil is a hotspot for scientists studying the origin of life.
07:24There, they found the remains of Lucy,
07:27one of our early human ancestors,
07:29dating back 3.2 million years.
07:32Plus, the acidic springs in the Dalal crater
07:35might hold the key to finding extremophile microbes.
07:39Those are organisms that thrive in extreme environments
07:42under high temperatures.
07:43Who knows what other mysteries this weird and wonderful place holds?
07:48So there's this beach near Fort Bragg, California,
07:52called Glass Beach.
07:54It's not because the sand is made of glass there,
07:57but because the beach used to be a dump site for garbage,
08:01including a ton of glass that was eventually pounded
08:04into tiny smooth pieces by the waves.
08:07You can't go around collecting that glass like some kind of treasure hunter, though.
08:11It's illegal.
08:12You'll have to leave it there for others to enjoy.
08:15The glass is slowly disappearing.
08:17It's getting ground down by the waves,
08:20and there are just too many tourists collecting it.
08:23So resist the temptation to grab a piece if you ever visit that place.
08:27Oh, and if you want to check out Glass Beach,
08:30there are actually three different sites where the garbage was dumped,
08:34but only one of them is adjacent to McCarrisher State Park.
08:38Do you recall any other funky places such as these?
08:42Go ahead and comment below.
08:44In the U.S., the country experiences floods in places around 300 days each year.
08:50However, there was one exceptional flood
08:53that captured the attention of not only Americans, but the entire world.
08:57Boston was drowning in a crazy amount of sweet syrup.
09:01It's like a huge mess you'd see at a candy store.
09:03Sounds kind of like a kid's dream, right?
09:05But for the people living there, it was a total nightmare.
09:10Instead of water, the whole city of Boston was engulfed in molasses.
09:14Now, if you're not up to speed on this sticky situation,
09:17let me give you the lowdown.
09:19Molasses is a thick, gooey substance that comes from sugarcane
09:23or sugar beet juice during the sugar-making process.
09:26Back in the old days, molasses was the go-to sweetener in the Americas
09:30up until the 20th century.
09:32But molasses isn't just for cooking.
09:34It can even be used to boost soil health by aiding in microbial activity.
09:39So, as you can see, this stuff is versatile
09:41and has its hands in various industries.
09:45So, on January 15, 1919,
09:48things in Boston were heating up, literally.
09:51Temperatures had finally climbed above 40 degrees Fahrenheit
09:54after a freezing cold spell.
09:57The previous days were frigid,
09:58so people could finally have a little break from the winter
10:01and enjoy slightly warmer weather for a day.
10:04In the morning, people were minding their own business.
10:07At Engine 31 Firehouse,
10:09a bunch of guys were chowing down on lunch
10:12and having a good time playing board games.
10:14Some kids were off collecting firewood for their family.
10:17Meanwhile, bartender Martin was still peacefully sleeping at his house
10:21after working late at his bar.
10:24Suddenly, as the clock struck midday,
10:27Boston people started noticing that something was off.
10:30They felt the earth tremble and heard a loud noise as it fell,
10:34like a train passing by.
10:36But there was no train around.
10:38Others described it as a big crash,
10:40a low growl,
10:41a bang as loud as thunder.
10:44Little did they realize that those noises
10:46were a clear indication that mayhem was about to go down.
10:50Nobody could foresee it at that point.
10:52But on Commercial Street, in Boston's North End,
10:55at around 12.30 p.m.,
10:57a massive 50-foot steel tank on a ship
11:00that had arrived in Boston a day earlier
11:02and that held 2.3 million gallons of molasses
11:06suddenly burst open.
11:07The molasses surged at 35 miles per hour,
11:11engulfing everything in its path.
11:13Buildings collapsed effortlessly.
11:15Individuals and animals fought to navigate
11:17through the sticky chaos,
11:18and an impromptu rescue effort was launched.
11:21The firehouse on Engine 31
11:23got completely knocked off its foundation,
11:25with the second floor collapsing on top of the first.
11:28At the same time,
11:30the bartender Martin's house nearby was swept away
11:33and smashed into the elevated train platform.
11:36Martin, the bartender who had just woken up,
11:39witnessed his house falling apart around him
11:41before being carried away by the current.
11:44He was in bed on the third floor
11:46when he heard a loud noise.
11:47When he woke up,
11:48he was surrounded by several feet of molasses.
11:51He almost drowned in the sticky mess
11:53before managing to climb onto his bed frame,
11:56which miraculously was floating nearby.
11:59He used the bed frame as a makeshift boat.
12:02Unlike Rose and Jack,
12:03who couldn't make it together,
12:04Martin was able to rescue his sister Teresa,
12:07but unfortunately,
12:08his mother and younger brother
12:09did not survive the disaster.
12:12The aftermath of the incident
12:14included a large-scale cleanup effort,
12:16multiple lawsuits against the company that was to blame,
12:19and a lengthy legal dispute spanning five years
12:23until the company was held accountable for the tragedy.
12:25The company ended up giving the flood victims
12:28and their families a total of $628,000 in compensation,
12:32which would be like $8 million today.
12:35Not much, given that, eventually,
12:37the number of people who lost their lives from the flood
12:40reached 20,
12:41with 150 others getting hurt.
12:44Plus, it took a few days to find some of the bodies.
12:47One guy who was a wagon driver
12:49wasn't found in Boston Harbor
12:51until about four months later.
12:53Still, it was exceedingly rare back then
12:55that a company did compensate.
12:57Most of them dodged responsibility
12:59for negligence at those times.
13:02Victims who were in greater distress
13:03before they suffocated,
13:05if I may say so,
13:06received higher compensation.
13:08How do you even put a price
13:10on something like drowning in molasses?
13:12Well, Judge Hugh Ogden
13:14had the job of determining that
13:16in the aftermath of the disaster.
13:18He oversaw distributing funds to those affected.
13:21So, he awarded around $6,000,
13:23which is about $600,000 today,
13:26to the families of those who passed away instantly.
13:30However, families of those
13:32who had to endure the molasses waves
13:34before they passed received $7,500.
13:37For example,
13:38there was a man stuck in a small crawlspace
13:40in the basement of a firehouse,
13:42struggling to keep his head above the molasses
13:45for approximately four hours
13:46before he eventually suffocated.
13:48So, his family was awarded more.
13:52Despite the destruction,
13:54the North End neighborhood bounced back
13:56as workers cleared debris
13:57and firefighters cleaned up the remaining molasses.
14:00The lingering scent of sweetness
14:02stayed for weeks.
14:03Imagine going about your day
14:05with a sweet aroma in the air,
14:07a haunting reminder of the tragedy
14:09that had unfolded.
14:10However, some people claim
14:12it lingered for decades, not weeks,
14:14and you could smell molasses
14:16in some Boston basements,
14:18even into the 60s.
14:19It sort of makes sense,
14:21because most basements
14:22were indeed filled up to the first floor.
14:26Molasses even changed the colors of Boston.
14:28The brownish hue Boston Harbor waters got
14:31because of the molasses
14:32persisted until summer,
14:34leaving a lasting impression
14:36on the city's past.
14:37The molasses company
14:39tried to pin the chaos on radicals.
14:41But we now know
14:42the real culprit behind the disaster,
14:44a poorly constructed tank
14:46that couldn't contain
14:47over 2 million gallons of goo
14:49that flooded the streets
14:50of the North End.
14:51Despite the company's claim
14:53that a group of radical people
14:55sabotaged the tank,
14:56there was no evidence
14:57to support this wild theory.
15:00The molasses wave
15:01just swept through the streets,
15:03dragging everything in its path.
15:05Carts, animals, houses.
15:07It was a tragic sight
15:08that caused a lot of destruction
15:09and injuries.
15:10Even horses in the nearby stables
15:13weren't safe from the molasses.
15:15Many of them sadly
15:16didn't make it out alive,
15:17and the police had to put down
15:19the ones trapped in the sticky mess.
15:21Things got even crazier
15:23when a police officer
15:24called for help
15:25because the molasses wave
15:26had caused a train to derail.
15:29Thankfully,
15:29quick thinking stopped things
15:31from getting even worse.
15:32Even though there were warnings
15:34about the tank having issues,
15:35the disaster still caught
15:37many people off guard.
15:38Some kids even tasted
15:40the leaking molasses
15:41without knowing
15:42the danger they were in.
15:44Cleaning up after the molasses disaster
15:47turned out to be a real challenge,
15:49lasting for months
15:50until things were back to normal.
15:51At first, civil servants,
15:54police, and volunteers
15:55all pitched in together.
15:56They used salt water
15:58from fireboats
15:59to get rid of the molasses
16:00and then used sand
16:01to soak it up.
16:02It took a while
16:03to really clean up the area
16:04around the harbor,
16:05and the water
16:06looked sadly strange
16:07for a while.
16:09After that,
16:10crews had to track down
16:11where else the molasses
16:12had gone in the city.
16:13It had spread
16:14all over the subway,
16:16making a mess
16:17on platforms
16:17and in train cars.
16:18It had gotten
16:20into people's homes
16:21and other spots
16:21around town.
16:22A journalist even said
16:24that everything
16:24a Bostonian touched
16:26ended up sticky.
16:28The disaster
16:29totally shook up
16:30safety rules
16:30around the country.
16:32Basically,
16:32all the building standards
16:34we have now,
16:35like architects
16:35showing their work,
16:37engineers sealing their plans,
16:38and inspectors
16:39checking things out,
16:40can be traced back
16:42to the great
16:42Boston molasses flood.
16:44It started in Massachusetts
16:46and then spread
16:47throughout the country.
16:47The flood really
16:49made a huge impact
16:50on building
16:51construction standards,
16:52similar to what
16:53the Coconut Grove fire
16:54did for fire safety rules.
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